megadethfandomcom-20200213-history
Peace Sells... but Who's Buying? (album)
Peace Sells... but Who's Buying? is the second studio album by the American heavy metal band Megadeth. It was released in November 1986. Originally, the project was handled by Combat Records, and this resulted in the first mix of the album. Eventually Capitol Records bought the rights to the album and a producer was hired to mix it himself. It was remixed and remastered in 2004 by Dave Mustaine. It has been listed as one of the 1001 Albums You Must Hear Before You Die and is highly regarded as a thrash metal classic. It is the last album to feature Gar Samuelson on drums, and the last album until The System Has Failed to feature Chris Poland on lead guitar. Overview Professional rock critic Steve Huey noted the album's combination of "punkish political awareness with a dark, threatening, typically heavy metal worldview." For instance, the album's cover makes an ironic statement about the Cold War. On the backdrop of a red and orange sky, it shows the United Nations headquarters soon after a nuclear attack. In the foreground is the band's mascot, Vic Rattlehead, who is leaning against a sign reading "For Sale" ("Vic Realtors" appearing on the bottom of the sign on the remastered version), implying that the United Nations is for sale. The cover and the title suggest that while peace is a popular theme, it has become commodified. These themes carry into the title track, with its strong themes of youth disillusionment. Dave Mustaine lifted the title from a Reader's Digest article, which was titled, "Peace Would Sell But No One Would Buy It". "As long as people keep stealing, hurting and mistreating people, there's always going to be something that you can pick up on and say, 'Look, this is wrong.' Granted, we sing about it, but we take a negative approach to what we do sing about. 'Hey the devil is there, but he's a moron. That's why he's buried in dirt'." (Mustaine, 1987) The recording of the album was very difficult for the band, as guitarist Chris Poland and drummer Gar Samuelson wouldn't show up for hours because of their extreme heroin addictions. Shortly after the band finished the final recordings of the album for the independent label Combat, they were approached by an A&R person Tim Carr of Capitol Records. After securing the contract, the label hired producer Paul Lani to remix the original mixes done by Randy Burns, the previous producer. "There was even a time when we were considered black metal! When people heard "Black Friday" and "Bad Omen", they thought we were Satanic. The worst thing is, like, going to a truck stop in Des Moines, Iowa, and having someone go Southern redneck voice, 'You guys in Megadeth? I heard you are Satanic.' They expect us to have dead goats and babies in our buses. You couldn't get any further from the truth!" (Mustaine, 1997) The RIAA certified Peace Sells platinum in 1992. This is one of the early albums to contain a Parental Advisory label, developed by the Parents Music Resource Center, an organization made to censor music that was deemed "inappropriate". On the 1986 Capitol Records pressing on vinyl record, it says on the back of the sleeve, "Explicit Lyrics - Parental Advisory". Tracklisting 2004 bonus tracks In popular culture The song "Peace Sells" ranked #11 on VH1's 40 Greatest Metal Songs and the bassline at its beginning was used for years as the theme for MTV News. It also appeared as part of the soundtrack in the video game Grand Theft Auto: Vice City, and is featured in the music video game Rock Band 2. The rest of the album was released as downloadable content for the Rock Band series on September 16, 2008. The song also appears on the set list of EA Sports' NHL10, and on the soundtrack to True Crime: Streets of LA. Personnel ;Megadeth *Dave Mustaine - Lead Vocals, Lead Guitar, Rhythm Guitar *Chris Poland - Lead Guitar, Rhythm Guitar *David Ellefson - Bass, Backing Vocals *Gar Samuelson - Drums ;Additional Vocals *Tracks 1, 4, and 9: Dave Mustaine, David Ellefson, Mike Anderson, Paul Sudin *Tracks 5, 8, and 12: Dave Mustaine, Casey McMackin, Randy Burns ;Production *Produced by Dave Mustaine and Randy Burns *Engineered by Casey McMackin and Randy Burns *Mixed by Paul Lani with Stan Katayama *Album design and cover illustration by Edward J. Repka *Cover concept by Dave Mustaine and Andy Somers ;Remix and Remaster *Produced by Dave Mustaine *Mixed by Ralph Patlan and Dave Mustaine *Engineered by Ralph Patlan with Lance Dean *Edited by Lance Dean with Scott "Sarge" Harrison *Mastered by Tom Baker References Category:Albums Category:Studio Albums Category:Peace Sells... but Who's Buying? Category:Needs References